Wax-thread sewing-machine



B. S. LEE.

WAX THREAD SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3.1915.

1 3 1 3, 7O 4; Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

B. 8. LEE.

WAX THREAD SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. I915 9 M 3 0 6 mm w ma w M P a 4 0 7, g. 3 1 10 F a 1 iwelti'or @hrmd/d X4 1.

lfllwwssesx B. 8. LEE.

WAX THREAD SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. I9l5 m 5% om m 4% w a w m S m M 'rulz COLUMBIAPLANQCIIIAPII c0. WASHINGTON n. C.

1 UNITED STATES PATENT oEEroE.

BERNARD S. LEE, 0F BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS,

TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A COR-PORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

WAX-THREAD SEWING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

Application filed May 3, 1915. Serial No. 25,471.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD S. LEE, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wax-ThreadSewing-lVI-achines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to wax thread sewing machines, and moreparticularly to heating devices for such machines.

Certain features of the invention relate particularly to wax threadsewing machines of the type comprising a straight hook needle, anddevices cooperating therewith to form a chain stitch seam in which theshoe is supported during the sewing operation upon a rotatable horn,such sewing machines being generally known in the art as s ewingmachines of the McKay type. Other features of the invention aregenerally applicable to wax thread sewing machines in which the threadis passed through a receptacle containing melted wax on its way from thesupply to the work to impregnate the thread with wax.

One object of the present invention is to provide wax thread sewingmachines with heating devices for maintaining the wax in the waxreceptacle in a properly melted condition along the path of the threadhaving an improved construction and mode of operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide wax thread sewing machinesof the McKay type with an improved and highly eflicient electricalheating system for heating the horn and other parts of the machine andfor heating the wax in the wax receptacle.

With these objects in view, the features of the invention consist in thenovel and improved constructions and combinations hereinafter described.and particularly pointed out in the claims, the advantages of which willbe obvious to those skilled in the art.

Thefeatures of the invention will be readily understood from aninspection of the accompanying drawings illustrating a machine embodyingthe invention in its preferred form and the following detaileddescription thereof.

In the drawings, Figure l is a view in side elevation of a shoe sewingmachine embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a detail view partly in rearelevation and partly in section, illustrating particularly theconstruction of the horn and certain associated parts; Fig. 3 is adetail sectional view taken through thewax receptacle; Fig. 4: is a planview of the wax receptacle and certain associated parts; Fig. 5 is aview in side elevation, partly in section, of the wax receptacle andcertain associated parts; Fig. 6 is a detail view in horizontal sectiontaken through the horn spindle, and Fig. 7 is a sectional view takensubstantially on the line 77 of Fig. 6.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is a sole sewing machine of theso-called McKay type, having substantially the same generalconstruction, arrangement and mode of operation of parts as the machineillustrated in the patent to Scott No. 1,050,568, dated January 14,1913. This machine comprises a straight hook needle and deviceseooperating therewith to form a chain stitch seam, and a rotatable hornarranged to extend inside the shoe to support the same during the sewingoperation and carrying a looping device within its tip by which thethread is laid in the hook of the needle. In the construction shown, thehorn proper indicated at S, is mounted upon a base 10 which secured tothe upper end of the horn spindle 12, and is arranged to rotate uponballbearings 14: carried by the forwardly pro ecting arm 16 of the frame ofthe machine, the

horn spindle extending downwardly through a suitable opening in thisarm. The lower portion of the horn spindle consists of a hollow shaft 18extending within and secured to the upper portion of the spindle,

the reduced lower end of which shaft is at its upper end in a bearing inthe block 28 mounted in the upper end of the horn spindle. This shaftcarries at its upper end a gear 30 connected through suitable gearingwith the whirl located in the horn tip.

The shaft 26 is driven through the beveled gears 32 from the horizontalshaft 34 which is connected a train of gearing with the main shaft 36 inthe head of the machine.

The wax receptacle 36 is fixed to a base plate 38 mounted upon the hornbase 10.

The container 40 for the thread supply is upon the horn base 10 toexposethese parts.

The wax receptacle is held in operating position upon the horn base 10by means of the screw 44'engaging in a slot in the horn base and screwedinto the base plate 38 of the wax receptacle. The thread passes from thesupply 46 located in the container 40 through a central opening in thespider 48 mounted on the top of the container and then passes downwardlythrough an opening 50 in the cover 52 of the wax receptacle into the waxreceptacle.

The cover for the wax receptacle consists of a plate fixed to the top ofthe receptacle upon which are mounted the devices for guiding the threadin its passage through the receptacle, the heating devices for mantaining the wax in the receptacle in a suitably'melted condition, thestripping. devices for stripping the wax from the thread as it emergesfrom the receptacle, and the tension device for maintaining the threadunder suitable tension. In the construction shown, an arm 54 mountedupon the cover of the wax receptacle extends downwardly into thereceptacle to a point near its base and carries at its lower end athreadv truck 56 about which the thread extends in its course throughthe receptacle, as shown particularly in Fig. 3, so thatthe thread isimmersed in the melted wax as it passes through the receptacle. A threadguide 58 having an eye through which the thread passes, is formed" onthe arm 54, this guide acting to prevent the thread from running off thethread truck 56. As the thread emerges from the wax receptacle, thesurplus wax is stripped from the thread by means of a stripping devicemounted on the cover of the receptacle. This stripping device is of wellknown construction and consists of 'a shaft or bar 60 fixed by means ofa set screw 62 in a suitable bore in the cover of the Wax receptacle,this bar having a groove in which the thread is engaged as it passesover the bar. 64 fixed to the cover of the wax-receptacle is arranged topress upon the thread as it passes over the bar 60, the wax beingstripped from the thread by the cooperative action of the spring andbar. After passing A flat spring plate through the stripping device, thethread is by means of the spring 74 interposed be tween the sleeve andthe abutment 76, After leaving the tension device, the thread passesinto the lower portion of the horn proper and then extends upwardly overthe thread trucks 78 and 80 to the whirl located in the tip of the horn.

In the present embodiment of theinvention, the machine is provided witha heat-. ing system adapted for the use of electricity as a heatingmedium and constructed and arranged to apply heat to the machine at twoprincipal points. This system comprises a heating unit mounted in thewax receptacle to maintain the wax in the receptacle in a suitablecondition to be applied to the thread asthe thread passes through thereceptacle, and a second heating unit mounted in the horn to keep thehorn heated so as to prevent the chilling of the wax thread as it passesfrom the wax receptacle to the looping device in the tip of the horn.

The heating devices for the wax receptacle comprise an arm 82 mounted onthe cover of the receptacle and extending downwardly into the receptaclesubstantially parallel with the arm 54. The arm 82 is formed with acylindrical chamber or pocket 84 in which is mounted an electricalheating unit 86. This heating unit consists of a series of heating coilsembedded in insulating material, the terminals 88 of which are suitablyconnected with the main circuit terminals. The arm 54 which carries thethread truck 56, is connected with the arm 82 by means of a web 90through which the arm 54 is heated by conduction. To increase the heatradiating area of the arm 82, this arm is'formed with radiallyprojecting blades or plates 92, as shown in Fig. 4. The heat transmittedfrom the arm 82 in which the heating unit 1 is mounted, keeps thewaxadjacent thereto in a thoroughly melted condition, so that hot.chiefly by conduction through the web 90 from the arm 82 and the wax iskept properly melted adjacent the path of the thread by theheattransmitted by this arm. The heat transmitted chiefly by conductionfrom the arm 82 to the stripping device and the thread wheel of thetension device keeps these parts hot so thatthe thread does not becomechilled after it leaves the wax receptacle. V

The construction for heatim the horn comprises a composition metal bfock9 1 having a relatively high co-etlicient of conductivity mounted in thehorn, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and having a cylindrical chamber 96 toreceive an electrical heating unit 98 similar to the unit 86, theterminals 100 of which are suitably connected with the main circuitterminals. The heat transmitted from the heating unit 98 throughthecomposition metal block 94 serves to keep the r horn hot and the threadis thus kept in proper condition as it passes through the horn to thewhirl.

In the system of electrical circuits illustrated in the drawings, theelectrical heating units 86 and 98 are arranged in parallel and arheostat is connected in the circuit leading to these units to enablethe heat generated thereby to be conveniently controlled. The terminals88 of the electrical heating unit 86 are connected with the secondarycircuit wires 106 leading to this unit by means of a flat iron plug. Tothe ends of the terminal wires 88 are connected the plug members 108mounted in an insulating block 110 fixed to the side of the waxreceptacle. The ends of plug members 108 are adapted to be inserted insockets in the cooperatingplug members 112, each connected with one ofthe extremities of one of the circuit wires 106. The plug members 112are mounted in an insulating block 114 secured to the lower portion ofthe horn proper, as shown in Fig. 2. This construction enables the waxreceptacle to be moved away from the base of the horn to give access tothe parts within the lower portion of the horn and at the top of thehorn spindle, or to be removed from the machine without disturbing thearrangement of the electrical circuits. WVhen the wax receptacle ismoved outwardly from the lower portion of the horn along the horn base10 the plug members 108 are withdrawn from the plug members112 by thesliding movement of the receptacle,

1 thereby disconnecting or breaking the circuit for the heating unit 86.When the wax receptacle is moved from its outer position on the hornbase to its normal position adjacent the lower portion of the horn, asshown in Fig. l, the plug members 108 are inserted in the sockets in theplug meinbers11'2 by the movement of the wax receptacle. l l I R Thecircuit wires 106 extend from the plug members 112 through a suitablepassage-way in the insulating block 11 1 and are respectively connectedwith the binding posts 116 mounted on the insulating plate 120-fixed tothe base of the horn proper. The terminal wires 100 of the electricalunit 98 are also respectively connected with the binding posts 116, asshown in Fig. 2. To the binding posts 116 are connected respectively theupper extremities of the circuit wires 122 through which the currentfrom the main circuit terminals passes in its course to the heatingunits. The heating units are thus arranged in parallel and the currentpassing from the main circuit terminals through the circuit wires 122 isdivided at the binding posts 116 and passes therefrom through therespective heating units 86 and 98. In order that an efficient andreliable connection may be maintained at all times between theelectrical units in the horn and the main circuit leads or conductorswhich will not interfere with the rotation of the horn, a pair ofdistributor rings, respectively connected with the circuit wires 122 aremounted upon the lower end of the horn spindle, and a pair of brushes,respectively connected with the-terminals of the main circuit leads, arearranged to bear respectively upon the distributor rings.

The circuit wires 122 extend downwardly from the binding posts 116through tubes 12 1 mounted in the horn spindle and are connected attheir respective lower ends withthe distributor rings 126 mounted on thehollow shaft 18 forming part of the horn spindle. These distributerrings are made of some good conducting material such as brass or copper,and are mounted upon the hollow shaft 18 so that they are insulated fromeach other and from the shaft. To support these rings a sleeve 128 isfixed by a set screw 130 to the hollow shaft 18 and upon this sleeve aremounted the insulating rings 132. These distributer rings 126 aremounted respectively upon the peripheries of the insulating rings 132,are separated from each other by the intermediate insulating ring 134,and are each secured by the screws 136 to the ring 131. The lowerinsulating ring 132 bears against a shoulder at the lower end of thesleeve 128, and a nut 138 is threaded on the upper end of the sleeve andserves to hold the parts securely on the sleeve. The circuit wires 122'are respectively connected with the distributer rings 126 by means ofthe binding screws 140. Arranged to bear respectively upon thedistributor rings 126 are brushes 142 respectively mounted uponbrackets141 secured to an insulating blo ck 14.6 fixed to the frame ofthe machine. Each of these brushes is mounted in a sleeve 148 threadedinto the corresponding bracket 144 and is yieldingly engaged with thedistributer ring by means of a coiled spring 150 interposed between theinner endof the brush and the end of the bore in the sleeve. The sleeves148 are each surrounded by an insulating sleeve 152. Upon each of thebrackets is mounted a binding post 153 and to thcsebinding posts areattached the respective lower extremities of the circuit Wires 154. Theupper end of one of the circuit wires 154 is connected with one of theterminals of a rheostat 156. The other terminal of the rheostat isconnected by the circuit wire 158 with one of the terminals of the maincut-out switch 160. The other circuit Wire 154 is connected directly atits upper end with the other terminal of the main cut-out switch. Thisarrangement of the rheostat enables the heat generated in both of theheating coils to be easily and conveniently controlled. The switch 160is connected at the fuse box 161 with the main circuit terminals towhich lead the main circuit wires 162.

In order to protect the terminal wires 88 leading from the heating unit86 from wax, with which the top and sides of the wax receptacle oftenbecome coated, a trough 164 shaped as shown particularly in Figs. 4 and5 is mounted upon the wax receptacle for the reception of these wiresand is closed by a cover 166 secured thereto by the screws 168. I Whenthe electrical unit 86 is to be removed from the arm 82 in which it ismounted, the screws 168 are loosened and the cover 166 is removed fromthe trough.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention, and havingspecifically described a machine embodying the same inits: preferredform, what is claimed is 1. A wax thread sewing machine having, incombination, stitch forming devices, a support for the wax receptacle, awax receptacle slidable on said support, an electrical heating devicefor the wax receptacle, and circuit connections therefor comprising aplug member carried by said support, and a cooperating plug membercarried by the wax receptacle arranged to be engaged with and disengagedfrom the plug member carcied by said support by the sliding of the waxreceptacle along the support.

2. A wax thread sewing machine having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a rotatable horn, a support for the wax receptacle mounted onthe horn, a wax receptacle slidable on said support, an electricalheating device for the wax receptacle, and circuit connections thereforcomprising a plug member carried by said support, and a cocperati'ngplug member carried by the wax receptacle arranged to be engaged withand disengaged from the plug member carried by the support by thesliding of the wax receptacle-along the support.

3. A wax thread sewing machine hav- I ing, in combination, stitchforming devices, a wax receptacle, an electrical heating device for thewax receptacle, electrical conductors leading thereto, and a box-likestructure mounted on the receptacle and having a removable cover forinclosing said conductors to protect the same from wax.

4. A sole sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices,a rotatable horn, a wax receptacle, an electrical heating coil forheating the horn, an electrical heating coil for the wax-receptacle,main circuit terminals, circuit connections for connecting said coilswith the main circuit terminals in parallel, and a rheostat forcontrolling "the heat generated in both said coils.

ceptacle, a thread guide carrying arm mounted on the cover and extendingdownwardly therefrom into the wax receptacle, thread guiding devicessupported wholly on said arm and arranged toguide the thread through thereceptacle in proximity to said arm, a heating arm mounted on the coverand extending downwardly therefrom into the wax receptacle substantiallyparallel with the first arm for heating the wax in the receptacle andfor heating the first arm and a series of radially extending heatradiatingi plates carried by and extending lengthwise of the heatingarm.

7. A wax thread sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a wax receptacle, a cover for the wax receptacle, a threadguide carrying arm mounted on the cover and extending downwardlytherefrom into the wax receptacle, thread guiding devices supportedwholly on said arm and arranged to guide the thread through thereceptacle in proximity to said arm, and a connecting web between thethread guide carrying arm and the heating arm, extending lengthwise ofsaid arms for conducting heat from the heating arm to the thread guidecarrying arm.

8. Asole sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch forming devices,a rotatable horn, a horn spindle, a Wax receptacle, an electricalheating coil for heating the horn, an electrical heating coil for theWax receptacle, secondary circuit conductors for said heating coils,primary circuit terminals mounted on the horn with which the conductorsfor said heating coils are connected in parallel, distributer ringsmounted on the horn spindle, primary circuit conductors connecting saidterminals With ,the distributer rings, brushes arranged to bear on thedistributer rings, primary circuit conductors connected with thebrushes, and a rheostat connected with the primary circuit conductorsfor controlling the heat generated in both the heating coils.

9. A Wax thread sewing machine, having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a support for the wax receptacle, a Wax receptacle mounted onthe support, an electrical heating device for the wax receptacle, maincircuit terminals, electrical conductors mounted on the support andconnected with the main circuit terminals, electrical conductorsconnected with said heating device, and cooperating plug members forconnecting the first conductors with the second conductors so as topermit the receptacle to be moved on the support or removed from thesupport.

BERNARD S. LEE.

copies ot this patent may be obtained for the cent: each, by addreulngthe "Oommluioner 0! Patents,

walhinzton, D. 0."

